Mumbai: Dombivli–Panvel commuters suffer as MSRTC cuts daily trips

Despite the Maharashtra governmentrsquos promise to ensure bus connectivity to every corner of the state a major urban corridor between Dombivli and Panvel remains neglected The Maharashtra State Road Transport Corporation MSRTC has curtailed its services to just four morning trips mdash two from each side mdash leaving scores of commuters distressedOnce a vital route operating from 500 am to 800 pm the PanvelDombivli service has now become nearly nonfunctional for most of the day officegoers industrial workers and students are left without reliable transportation despite a high demandOnly morning tripsThe two buses from Dombivli departing at 700 am and 745 am respectively do not meet the needs of commuters whose offices start between 930 am and 1000 am There are no return services in the afternoon or evening leaving workers stranded at Taloja and Panvel for hoursAdding to the confusion the Indira Gandhi Chowk stop mdash once the official MSRTC starting point in Dombivli mdash has been taken over by private taxi operators and the service now starts from Bajiprabhu Chowk However there is no information counter in Dombivli and Kalyan Dombivli Municipal Transport KDMT officials say they have no role in MSRTC operationsKalyan Phata blamedWhen contacted Dnyaneshwar Mhatre the temporary incharge of the Panvel bus depot pointed to severe traffic congestion as the primary reason for the cutback ldquoThe journey between Panvel and Dombivli used to take about twoandahalf hours earlier Now due to massive jams at Kalyan Phata it takes over five to six hours for a round trip Drivers and conductors get exhausted and canrsquot be reassigned for other routesrdquo he saidAccording to Mhatre buses starting from Ahilya Nagar reach Kalyan on time but after that traffic completely halts movement on the Kalyan PhataPanvel stretch ldquoThis affects both KalyanPanvel and DombivliPanvel services Wersquove had to reduce trips on the PanvelRetibandar Mumbra route as wellrdquo said MhatreHigh fare still no busesThe oneway fare from Kalyan to Panvel on an MSRTC bus is R65 while it costs R61 from Dombivli to Panvel On the other hand KDMT buses charge R45 for a KalyanPanvel trip via Taloja But KDMT services are not fully functional either ldquoOnly a few KDMT buses are running via Taloja and that too not throughout the dayrdquo said a commuterThe MSRTC buses are expensive but at least they go directly to Taloja and Panvel Now with fewer trips wersquore forced to change multiple vehicles waste time and risk delays at every junctionrdquo said Sangita Choudhary a daily commuter who relies on the bus service ldquoThe traffic problem is real but other bus corporations like NMMT Navi Mumbai Municipal Transport still manage to run full services Why is only MSRTC giving uprdquo asked Manohar Patil another commuterNo political willNo political party has taken up the issue so far despite its wide impact on voters from Dombivli Kalyan Taloja and Panvel Passengers say they are forced to rely on overcrowded and unsafe suburban trains or costly shared autorickshaws that lack any regulationCommuters demandgtgt Restoration of fullday MSRTC servicesgtgt Buses between 830 and 900 am for officegoersgtgt Dedicated and safe starting point in Dombivligtgt Information counter for MSRTC schedulesgtgt Urgent attention to Kalyan Phata traffic congestion